1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an upper body structure for vehicles, particularly to a roof structure for a convertible type vehicle body.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has been known a vehicle body structure provided with a displaceable roof section which can move in the longitudinal direction so that passenger compartment can be expanded rearwardly.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,859 discloses a convertible type vehicle body having a slidable roof structure which can be displaced rearwardly in the vehicle longitudinal direction so as to facilitate the ingress of the passengers.
According to the disclosure of the above U.S. Patent, when the slidable roof structure is moved rearwardly, upper portion of the vehicle body is opened to expand the cabin space. It will therefore be understood that the disclosed convertible body structure is disadvantageous in that when rainy weather, passengers in the cabin get wet under the open roof condition thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,939,742 discloses a vehicle body structure having a foldable vehicle top or roof in which folding movement of the top is controlled by taking advantage of the influence of the gravity. The foldable top section is moved between the lowered and raised positions by means of an electric motor and a cable connected to the foldable top section.
However the vehicle structure disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,939,742 cannot expand the space of the passenger compartment by the folding movement. It should further be noted that the same problem as the U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,869 will occur in the lowered position of the top because of the open roof structure.